A New Pneumococcal Capsule Type, 10D, is the 100th Serotype and Has a Large cps Fragment from an Oral Streptococcus

The polysaccharide capsule is essential for the pathogenicity of pneumococcus, which is responsible for millions of deaths worldwide each year. Currently available pneumococcal vaccines are designed to elicit antibodies to the capsule polysaccharides of the pneumococcal isolates commonly causing diseases, and the antibodies provide protection only against the pneumococcus expressing the vaccine-targeted capsules. Since pneumococci can produce...